In the current state of poker in the US, it seems we already have the short end of the stick. Unfortunately, even now, Merge's player base is getting smaller. OPR reports that in 2012 there were 71,434 who played at least 12 real money games. In 2013, the number plummeted to 44,739. This year, there have only been 14,919 people who have played 12 games (so far).

This trend looks awful and Merge's promos have gotten worse, rake seems to be trending upwards, and Merge's main focus seems to be in getting players to PLAY MORE, rather than to REACH OUT to more. I have to say, I don't really like this outlook and it clearly isn't working. Isn't reaching out to more people and getting them on board a better marketing strategy long term? Is there even a long term for these sites in the US? Are they more interested in making as many quick bucks as they can?

What do you guys think?